Converting to primes - would love some opinions

[btaylor]

I have been a happy 24mm f/1.4 user, but now I love me Zeiss, just like me spinach.
Zeiss 21mm and 35mm are dreamy to use and work very well.

I do like the Zeiss lenses Steve but I'd still be heavily dependent on autofocus in the 24mm range so unfortunately I don't think they'll work for me there.

I love my 24mm f/1.4 II and it was definitely worth the upgrade over the mark I for me. But I don't recommend sacrificing your ultrawide range just to get the Mark II -- a lot of times 24 just isn't wide enough. So you should look for some way to afford both a 24mm and a 14mm from the start. My suggestion is to go for the inexpensive Samyang (AKA Rokinon) 14mm f/2.8.

At this stage I don't think I'd be in a position to go for the 14mm as well Daniel. Especially considering the 5D3 is on the cards for later on in the year. To be honest I haven't read a huge amount about the Samyang so I have a look at a few reviews. I do know that it is manual focus only which is fine for that focal length as I'd generally be shooting off a tripod and setting up for a shot. I'll see, it's defiinitely an option. If it appears to perform well then I could always sell both my lenses, keep the Samyang in the back of my mind, and if 24mm isn't wide enough for me purchase it on that premise.

Dr Croubie - thanks for the ideas. However I'm pretty dependent on autofocus to be honest, especially in a walk around / general purpose focal length. I understand the the split screens do make it easier to manual focus however if/when I upgrade to the 5D3 I'm not sure whether split/focus screens will be available for it (with the new intelligent viewfinder). Although I do believe the 7D has the same viewfinder so I'll check out the katz eye screens anyway. In saying that, I don't think I'd be prepared to go all out on the manual focus front. For an UWA lens I think I'd be more than happy manually focussing.

Lots to think about, better read a couple of reviews on the Samyang.

Cheers,

Ben